Five Lingering Thoughts From Miami-Florida State

YouTube: always there to express our emotions

Much has been said in the wake of Miami's humiliating 45-17 smackdown at the hands of Florida State on Saturday. Some of it is seasoned and appropriate, some of it juuuuuust a little over the top.       

Either way, make no mistake: it was a very, very bad loss, and the stench will remain even if Miami wins out and heads off to the ACC Championship. 

That, by the way, is still possible. Very few people projected this would be a one- or two-loss team, and the Hurricanes are still able to accomplish what was laid out for them at the beginning of the year. Florida State-Miami games are always a toss-up -- it's the way in which Miami lost that disturbs so greatly.

For now, as per usual, our feelings can best be summed up by a five-second YouTube:

Here's four other thoughts following the loss:

04. Jacory Harris is not good enough, but the 'Canes are in the unenviable situation of having to play a player that ought to be benched. There's just no depth. Neither A.J. Highsmith nor Spencer Whipple give the 'Canes a better chance to win than Harris, and Shannon has no choice but to play him so long as his extremities remain attached. Meanwhile, his receivers are open, but Harris is getting them drilled throwing high and soft.

No. 12 is also harmfully absent as a leader. He wanders off by himself between possessions, and it's no longer okay for Jacory to be his "cool" self when his team so clearly needs to see him engaged and hear him refusing to lose. Damien Berry stepped in to fill this void, but it's not his job. A quarterback at Miami needs to know and own his role.

(Berry, by the way, gave his all against Florida State. And watching him speak afterward was like watching the first ten minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Miami needs more Damien Berrys.)

03. Miami's middle linebacker situation is part of its problem. Colin McCarthy has an immense amount of heart, but could not make plays in isolation -- something Florida State exploited again and again.

02. No coach on earth could have overcome Miami's offensive line and front seven allowing themselves to be obliterated all night long. There's only so much one can do when things fold in the trenches. The offensive line only fought back for a time before it just simply gave up.

01. Handfuls of players need to look in the mirror. Shannon has recruited big, superior athletes, but some of them have shown no drive to get themselves on the field. Tommy Streeter is one. And why is there no pride on kick coverage? Gunner Corey Nelms was out, but a former walk-on shouldn't make any difference.

Part of the problem here is the condition in which they and Shannon found the program. In the same way that winners breed winners, complacency breeds complacency -- and this group of juniors and seniors came in under the leadership of the group that lost 48-0 in the Orange Bowl. Generational sins are proving tough to overcome.

Janie Campbell is a Florida native who believes in the pro-set and ballpark hot dogs. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.

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